Jared Smith on the Biblical Covenants

3 The Earthly And Temporary Covenants: Part 1

Some of the points I cover in this teaching video:

The Presbyterians and the Traditional Reformed Baptists believe God established a conditional covenant of grace with sinners (Gen 3:14,15), the substance of which is one and the same with the succeeding covenants, administered differently at various stages in history. The 1689 Federalists, a branch of the Reformed Baptist movement, believe God promised to establish a conditional covenant of grace with sinners (Gen 3:14,15), the pledge of which was renewed in each of the succeeding covenants, and finally established on mount Calvary with the death of Christ. I do not believe the scriptures support this notion of a conditional covenant of grace, and therefore the covenantal frameworks of the foregoing groups are erroneous.

In my view, the biblical covenants should be arranged under two categories: (1) Two spiritual and perpetual covenants—Works and Redemption; (2) Four earthly and temporary covenants—Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic and Davidic. The spiritual and perpetual covenants are concerned with the human race and are the basis upon which sinners are in relationship to or with God; the earthly and temporary covenants are concerned with the Jewish race and the physical coming of the Messiah into the world (yes, even the Noahic Covenant).

A Summary Of My View On The Earthly And Temporary Covenants:

I believe the thread which ties together the earthly covenants is the promise of the coming Messiah—First, each covenant was made by God with individuals belonging to the bloodline through which the Messiah would be born; Second, the purpose for each covenant is directly linked to the coming Messiah. It is from this bloodline that God the Father would prepare a body for His Son. And, it is for this reason God set this bloodline apart with special honor (making with them earthly covenants, giving to them special laws and bestowing upon them earthly blessings) during the first 4,000 years of history.

However, with the birth of the Messiah came the end of His bloodline, resulting in the cancellation of these covenants and the termination of the special honor God placed upon the Jewish people as a race. In no sense should these earthly covenants be identified with a conditional covenant of grace, or, to be one and the same with the covenant of works or the covenant of redemption.

The earthly covenants were designed by God to established the boundaries around which He would relate to and bestow earthly blessings upon the Jewish people as a race, in honor of the Messianic bloodline. The spiritual covenants are designed by God to establish the boundaries around which He relates to the non-elect and the elect throughout the course of history.

In this study, I provide a fuller explanation for the first half of the first paragraph of the summary statement.

Jared Smith, Muntinlupa, PH (25/11/2022)